Isla grimaced. “Yeah, I don’t think Mum would be all too pleased with that either.”
We were walking through the moonlit garden and I slowed down, pulling her close to me. “Are we already talking about weddings, Isla?”
She hesitated, looking up at me. “Not weddings so much as where to go next. I’ve had feelings for you for a long time and the real thing is amazing. I can’t even pretend it’s not.”
“Why would we pretend?” I asked quietly. “Our feelings are pretty obvious now that we’re together.”
“It’s a little soon to be talking about weddings, though, no?”
I shrugged. “Yes and no. In my head, the plan is to spend the summer together, making sure this is what we want and then figuring out what to do once hockey season and the school year start up again.”
She nodded. “It’ll be a bit complicated, which is why I don’t want to make any decisions yet. I just want to be with you and enjoy every minute together.”
“I’m right here, baby, and I’m not going anywhere.” I leaned down to kiss her, sucking her tongue deep into my mouth. I loved kissing her and now that I had free rein to do it, I planned to as often as possible. Once the wedding was over, we’d have a lot more freedom to be together and heading down to London would be the perfect escape. I loved her family, but I wanted it to be just us, no matter where we went. Heading back to Vegas together would be good too, because that was home to me, and though I didn’t know what the future held, I wanted her to be comfortable anywhere I might end up.
I was meeting Ian for breakfast the morning of the wedding. We were heading out to a diner not far from the house but somewhere we could have a little privacy. He’d said it was just a little guy time to thank me for all I’d done leading up to the wedding, in my capacity as his best man, and though I’d told him it wasn’t necessary, it was a good time for us to have a little calm before the storm of what would hopefully be the biggest day of his life so far.
“You and Isla don’t seem to be wasting any time, I see,” he said, once we were seated.
I chuckled. “I’ve been waiting two years for this chance, so no, I wasn’t going to waste another minute. I’m crazy about your sister.”
“So why did you wait two bloody years to make a move?” he demanded.
“I honestly wasn’t sure how you would feel about it, and since I didn’t know if she was interested, it was a little complicated. In my head anyway.”
“The two of you make a great couple,” he said quietly. “I can’t think of anyone better for my sister.”
“Thanks.” I took a sip of my coffee. “Now I’ve got to find a way to convince her she loves me enough to leave her job and life in Edinburgh and move to Vegas.”
Ian grimaced. “I haven’t talked with her about her feelings for you, but I think that’s going to be an uphill battle, my friend.”
I sighed. “I know. But we decided not to think about any of that for now. We’re going to focus on your wedding, and then we’re going away together.”
“The no-sex-in-the-house rule cramping your style, eh?” He chuckled.
“Well, yeah. Why do you think I moved to the hotel early?”
“Good idea, to be honest. Probably better for the two of you to go off on your own, away from Granddad’s critical eye and Mum trying to subconsciously talk you into having babies.”
“We talked about that and we’re not ready for kids yet.”
“You already talked about babies?” Ian cocked his head. “This is truly serious then?”
“I’ve been in love with her for a long time and she says she feels the same way, so yeah, it’s serious.”
“I’m a bit surprised,” Ian admitted, “but I’m happy if the two of you are.”
“There’s a but in there,” I said slowly.
He shrugged. “I already told you—her career is important to her and I don’t know that she can just leave the university here and pick up her research somewhere else. I’m sure it’s possible, but I don’t know the likelihood or the logistics. It’s not easy to be a professor at her age, and with the possibility of you getting traded every few years, that won’t be easy for her.”
I sighed. “Way to burst my bubble.”
“Just be honest and make sure you talk about everything. If you love each other enough, it’ll all work out, but don’t sweep it under the rug, yeah?”
“Definitely not. We need a little time to get to know each other as a couple first, though, you know?”
“Understandable.”
“So what about you? Are you ready? Are you excited? How does this whole getting married thing feel?”
“I’ll let you know tonight,” he quipped.
“Nervous?”
He shook his head. “Nah. I love her and she loves me. There’s nothing to be nervous about.”
Ian grinned as the waitress brought our food. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him about my growing discontent with hockey, but it didn’t seem like the time or place. It was also the kind of conversation that might take a long time and we didn’t have that kind of time today.
“Something on your mind besides my sister?” he asked. Ian was one of the most intuitive people I knew. One of many reasons we were as close as we were.
“Yeah, but it can wait. Not the type of conversation you have on your buddy’s wedding day.”
“We have time.”
I met his gaze hesitantly. Then I just blurted it out because I didn’t know how else to approach it.
“I’ve been thinking about leaving hockey.”
Ian stared at me. Then he squinted. “Is this some type of American wedding day hazing ritual or something?”
“I’m Canadian, in case you forgot, but no, I’m being serious.”
“You want to
